Stars still shining at drive-in: 42nd season to premiere in Leicester

Drive-in theaters have dwindled into near extinction elsewhere, but Leicester’s drive-in is alive and well and getting better. The Leicester Drive-in is preparing to open for its 42nd season next week with an upgraded screen.

[singlepic id=1 w=400 float=right]LEICESTER — Drive-in theaters have dwindled into near extinction elsewhere, but Leicester’s drive-in is alive and well and getting better. The Leicester Drive-in is preparing to open for its 42nd season next week with an upgraded screen.

“It isn’t really a whole new screen,” said Hanna J. Joseph, who built the drive-in in 1965 and has operated it for all but a brief period since. “The steel and everything underneath are the original equipment but I’ve just flipped the surface material, which had become worn and damaged over the years. It will seem like a whole new screen.”

Mr. Joseph said only the main screen of his three-screen theater is getting refurbished. Screen No. 2, built in 1995, and Screen No. 3, added five years later, are still pretty much good as new.

In his early days in the business, Mr. Joseph had plenty of competition. with drive-ins as close by as Oxford and Auburn. Those and most of the others in the state are long gone, leaving Leicester, Mendon, Lunenburg and Wellfleet on Cape Cod as the only representatives of the once-popular genre left in Massachusetts.

After he got the drive-in off the ground, Mr. Joseph sold it and took back a second mortgage. But the new owner’s operation failed and the drive-in was closed for a year in 1983.

“That didn’t work out,” he said. “He (the buyer) stopped making his payments and I finally had to foreclose. And when I went to take the operation back, I discovered much of the equipment had been taken away and someone even came to take the screen down. Fortunately, my neighbor Krikor Sojjan saw him and had them arrested. I wound up closing for a year just to get the theater back in shape.”

Once the theater was reopened, Mr. Joseph has continued operating it himself, making changes as he went along. The biggest change, he said, was getting rid of the speakers on posts, which had always caused problems with patrons driving off with them still attached to their cars. The speakers were replaced by sound broadcast over a radio band that patrons can tune into on their car or portable radios.

In the early days, the Leicester Drive-in was open only on weekends and, like most theaters of its kind, played second- and third-run films.
“I remember the first movie we ever played. It was Elvis Presley in ‘Double Trouble,’ and the second one was John Wayne in ‘War Wagon,’ ” he said.

With the addition of a second screen, he switched over to first-run movies, which in turn led him to remain open seven nights during the season. And the combination of the movies and being the only game in a wide area now bring him patrons from as far away as Connecticut, the Boston area and Western Massachusetts on a regular basis.

“I’ve had people come up to me on many evenings saying ‘Please don’t close it, we just love to be able to bring our family here,’ ” he said. “And I really wouldn’t want to close it. I just love to see the kids in their pajamas, sitting on the ground and enjoying the movies. It gives me a warm feeling.”

The Leicester Drive-in’s gates will open this year May 2. It will be open Fridays and Saturdays only for the first month, open four nights for Memorial Day weekend, then switch over to seven nights as soon as school closes in June.

12 Responses to “Stars still shining at drive-in: 42nd season to premiere in Leicester”

I just want to say thank you for continuing to keep the drive in open. It is an affordable night out for a family and the kids really look forward to it. It also brings back good childhood memories for me since I used to go when I was a child. Thank you again for helping the struggling families in mass have an enjoyable time with their children.

I am now 22 years old, when I was much younger I remember my mom didn’t have enough money to take me and my brother to a regular theater so we went to the drive in because its always been cheaper to visit. I appreciate that its been around so long and that I can go there, probably this weekend in fact, to reminisce and feel nostalgic and enjoy a good movie!

I grew up in New York, on Long Island, during the 60s and 70s. It once looked like the peaceful Leicester area, only to have its beauty replaced with subdivisions, malls, and traffic. The drive-ins of my childhood became soulless big box superstore meccas. The first time I drove by this place I nearly wept with joy when I realized it was actually still in business. I had not gone to a drive-in (now the site of a shopping center) since college. One of my childhood friends visited me here in MA and we couldn’t wait to go here. We practically skipped with glee through the authentic 60s period concession stand. Please do not modernize it. This entire place is priceless. It is a soothing balm of relief from the often brutal and cynical world we face.

The whole family eagerly awaits warm weather and the opening of the drive in. Sitting in the comfort of our own vehicle, sharing a family activity, without worrying about disturbing other viewers, all for the best value around. Thank you for providing all this for us.We hope you stay open forever.

I want to thank you for the many years of wholesome affordable fun and family enjoyment. I went often as a child since I lived only 1/4 mile away. Now Istill live in town and take my family often. I am very appreciative to be one of the only towns left to have a drive in in the state. And the only one in central Ma. Thank u so much from the whole family

So very grateful you are still in business. I grew up in Leicester in the 1970’s and still remember seeing Star Wars here. I now bring my son and hope he will have wonderful memories too of your great place. Thank you.